#63 Woshapp
Eco-friendly car wash at your doorstep
Read time: 5 minutes
Hi, I’m Javi Gascón.
This is Climate Tech Distillery, a newsletter where I talk about one specific climate tech company every week.
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Today we’ll distill a company that’s making revolutionary mobile car care: convenient, water-efficient, and gentle on paint: Woshapp (now Zivi) 🇸🇪
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What Problem Does Woshapp Tackle❓
You guessed it, they tackle the several environmental and resource-related problems associated with the car washing industry:
1. Water Usage: Home car washing is highly water-intensive, using around 380 liters of water per wash. Commercial car washes, while more efficient, still use significant amounts of water, typically around 200 liters per car.
2. Water Pollution: Car wash wastewater contains harmful chemicals such as detergents, oils, grease, and heavy metals. This wastewater often ends up in stormwater systems, leading to contamination levels up to 30 times higher than recommended guidelines for marine waters.
3. Energy and Emissions: Car wash operations are energy-demanding, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, particularly from electricity consumption in dry processing stages.
Product / Service 📦
Woshapp decided to innovate the car washing business to deal with all of this + other cool features:
Convenience: The service is on-demand and comes directly to the consumer's location, typically at their residential building, saving time and effort.
Eco-Friendliness: WOSH uses a waterless wash technique that uses 0.5 liters of water per wash, and all the fluids used are 100% eco-friendly.
Customizable Services: Consumers can select from various service levels (SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE, X-LARGE) and add-ons such as Clay Treatment, Pet Hair Removal, and Plastic Dressing to tailor the service to their car's needs.
Membership Options: Users can subscribe to weekly or bi-weekly membership plans, which offer regular cleaning services at a discounted rate, ensuring their car remains clean with minimal hassle.
Quality and Safety: All WOSHERS are background-checked and trained in car washing and customer service, ensuring a high-quality and safe experience for the vehicle and its owner.
Market 🌐
Globally, the car wash service market was valued at USD 38.4 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 69.7 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 6.4%. Rising consumer spending on vehicle maintenance and the demand for sustainable options all help Woshapp.
Other Key Players
Fleetwash 🇺🇸: Provides mobile truck washing and facility cleaning services with a focus on environmentally friendly practices.
MobiWash 🇧🇬: An eco-friendly mobile car wash service that uses units requiring no connection to energy or water sources.
Wicar 🇵🇱: Offers ecological car wash and automotive aesthetic services through a mobile app-based platform.
There are sustainable car washing solutions in many countries but they tend to stay in their local markets. Zivi on the other hand is expanding globally.
Founding Story 🦄
Woshapp was founded in 2016 by Jens Karlsson and Mark Owuya in Sweden. The idea was to revolutionize the car wash industry in a sustainable way. Mark (CTO) was a professional hockey player for 15+ years and he has a background in computer programming. Jens (CEO) had 10+ years of experience in sales and product management in tech.
Their sustainable and time-saving approach quickly gained traction and has raised $4.14 million from Norrsken, Bonnier Ventures and others.
In 2024 they rebranded to Zivi and transformed into a full-service B2B car care provider with integrated SaaS solutions and AI capabilities. This will help them expand globally (present in Sweden and Denmark now).
Wether Woshapp or Zivi, their core value has stayed the same: “We clean up after ourselves“.
Top Impact Stats 📈
1. A fleet of 1,000 vehicles can reduce CO2 emissions by 3.8 tons per month by avoiding unnecessary trips to washing and service centers.
2. Traditional car washing in Sweden results in 40 million extra car trips annually, averaging 14 kilometers each. Zivi's mobile service eliminates these trips.
3. Their solution represents a 99% reduction in water usage for each car wash.
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